Child & Family Connections

About Us
Child and Family Connections (CFC) serves families with children under the age of 3 with suspected developmental delays. CFC provides a system point of entry into the Illinois Early Intervention System. CFC provides service coordination of early intervention services including evaluations, connecting eligible families to therapies, community resources and transition.

Tip for Parents

The program encourages parents to talk with their child's doctor at every visit about the milestones their child has reached, and what to expect next. They can also ask the doctor to conduct a five-minute screening that will help assess whether the child should receive any type of early intervention.

Who Can Receive Services
Children who are residents of Lake County, under the age of 3, and have met criteria for eligibility, the most common being a 30% delay in development or documentation of an automatically eligible medical diagnosis that may cause developmental delays. ​

Early Intervention Clearinghouse

Additional Information

CFC links families to EI services and teaches families how to play with their children in order to help them learn and increase essential skills in the following areas of development:

Physical: how your baby moves and explores

Cognitive: how your baby learns

Communication: how your baby lets you know what he/she needs

Social/Emotional: how your baby engages with you and shows feelings

Adaptive: how your baby uses new skills

Some CFC services available through the Health Department are provided to families at no cost, regardless of income, including:

Audiological services

Development of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP)

Eligibility evaluations

Monitoring of ongoing development for eligible children

Parent liaison services

Providing additional resource information to families

Service coordination (similar to case management)

The family-centered EI services are coordinated, culturally sensitive, comprehensive and effective in assisting families to help their children reach their fullest potential. CFC staff ensures that families are aware of their EI rights and choices for services.